Woman sets out exactly why travelling by train is a nightmare in Wales
A woman has shared her nightmare journey travelling via public transport between Wales and England. She said she wants to support public transport and sees it as a key aspect in reaching net zero but claimed it's becoming impossible as trains in the UK are "expensive and unreliable".
Due to the "state" of railway services, she added that she understands why people prefer to drive rather than rely on public transport. On the social media site X, the passenger, whose original starting point was Newcastle, explained in a thread firstly how her original Transport for Wales train into Wales from Shrewsbury was cancelled on Wednesday. She then had to wait for a replacement bus - which didn't turn up - before another replacement train turned up and left Shrewsbury an hour later.
Two days later for her return journey, the Heart of Wales line was closed. Although she did not explicitly mention the weather, Storm Ciaran had hit the UK on Wednesday and Thursday, and Transport for Wales has cited it as the reason for the disruption, though the south of England was far more significantly affected than Wales. There was no replacement bus arranged so her only option was to travel by car to the next operating station. When she finally got to the station, her train was 40 minutes late and was terminating at a different, smaller station, rather than Manchester. She claimed that Transport for Wales made no formal announcement of this termination and she was only informed by overhearing a ticket inspector telling another passenger.
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On X, she said: "I really want to support public transport as I see it as key for helping us reach net zero. I travelled to mid-Wales from Newcastle on Wed and am travelling back today by train. On Wed, my @tfwrail[3] train at Shrewsbury was cancelled. We were told we'd get a replacement bus. We waiting half an hour for the bus. No bus showed. We were then told a replacement train was found so we went to wait for that. Eventually, an hour late, the train left. Coming back today the Heart of Wales line was closed. I had to get a lift from Llandrindod to Craven Arms. Got to Craven Arms, the train was 40 mins late. Now it's terminating in Wilmslow rather than onto Manchester. @tfwrail[4] hadn't put on a replacement bus for the whole Heart of Wales line, meaning the only option was car. Who knows when I'll get back to Newcastle.
"Trains in the UK are expensive and unreliable. I wish we had a better service because, in theory, trains can be faster and nicer to travel than driving. But at present, the state of the railways means I understand why people prefer to drive. Public transport can help us reduce emissions and get to Net Zero but we also have to ensure that the system is resilient to the effects of climate change. The recent storm and associated flooding shows it's not currently resilient.
"@tfwrail[5] didn't even bother to make a verbal announcement on the train that this train is no longer going to Manchester. We only found out as the ticket inspector just happened to be passing through and mentioned it to a passenger and I overheard it. Disgraceful."
A spokesperson for TfW said: “We apologise to customers for the disruption caused earlier this week by Storm Ciarán, especially to rail services along the Heart of Wales line and elsewhere. We will always endeavour to run a fully advertised scheduled service. However, on occasions of extreme weather[6] as witnessed this week, the operational safety of running trains will be prioritised and short-notice cancellations and disruption will unfortunately occur. The same weather-related operational challenges can also impact our ability to operate road replacement services.
“TfW advises customers to always check before they travel using the TfW app, website, social channels and JourneyCheck for the most up-to-date travel information before making a journey during national weather events. Customers affected by disruption are entitled to claim delay repay if their journey was delayed by over 15 minutes at their final destination. TfW is fully committed to promoting sustainable travel for future generations and we are working alongside our partners at Network Rail to build a more resilient railway for Wales and the Borders. Our £800m investment will ensure that 95% of journeys are on brand new trains which have already commenced operating on the network, serving the communities of Wales and the Borders.”